Victorian England and a royal is found murdered in a cheap Shoreditch rooming house - but who could commit such a treasonous act? Perplexed, the police turn to the greatest detective in the world and his companion, based in Baker Street. The game is atentacled in this brilliant cross between Conan Doyle and Lovecraft!
I read A Study in Emerald when it was published in Neil Gaiman’s short story collection Fragile Things but that was so long ago that I’d forgotten the absolutely inspired twist ending when I came to read this comic adaptation so I was blown away all over again. It’s no less great a story in graphic form.
The mystery is compelling, the world-building is terrific and it’s the perfect meeting of two writers’ worlds with Lovecraftian elements so beautifully incorporated into Conan Doyle’s Holmes stories you’d think they were made for each other. And that twist is totally unpredictable and ingenious.
I love the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen-esque interstitials - fake ads nodding to Victorian literature - and the design of Queen Victoria is genuinely creepy with “her” human mask.
It’s not a huge critique but the only thing that stops me from giving this one a perfect score is Rafael Albuquerque’s art. I’m just not a fan and, while I appreciate the colour choices suit the time and setting, the pages look very drab and dull to look at.
Otherwise, A Study in Emerald is a superb and imaginative blend of Victorian detective fiction and Lovecraftian horror, executed masterfully - a fantastic read!
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